I hope we hear something soon, iam starting to wonder if to save money they just do direct download copy only instead of x - amount of hard copies made up and they do still actually release in early Feb then go hard for Live 18.

I think it was Ben on the podcast that suggested they use Live 17 as a beta to work out all the kinks of the new game engine so that Live 18 has time to work out any issues.

I keep trying to get into 2k17 but the offline gameplay just frustrates the crap out of me, Live 16 had its faults but I enjoyed the gameplay alot more and the controls too.

mp3 wrote:I hope we hear something soon, iam starting to wonder if to save money they just do direct download copy only instead of x - amount of hard copies made up and they do still actually release in early Feb then go hard for Live 18.

I think it was Ben on the podcast that suggested they use Live 17 as a beta to work out all the kinks of the new game engine so that Live 18 has time to work out any issues.

I keep trying to get into 2k17 but the offline gameplay just frustrates the crap out of me, Live 16 had its faults but I enjoyed the gameplay alot more and the controls too.

download makes a lot of sense. less overhead, plus already sinking disc sales of games in general probably wouldn't put them in the best light

From everything I've heard, they're not axing the console version. I suppose it's possible they decide to skip a Q1 release and go ahead with NBA Live 18 later in the year instead, but that's just speculation at this point. Granted, things can change, but there's no reason to assume the console version is being permanently axed at this point.

I think that might be reading too much into those Tweets. Sounds to me like they're saying "Sorry we can't give you some exciting news on your birthday", because they're not ready to say anything today.

Yeah there seems to be focus on the word future when it could just be the social media team intentionally being vague. Would be cool if we got a summer release with rookies with updates for trades and signings

I mean, next week is the future, technically speaking. If they (hypothetically) released news about NBA Live 17 next week, they'd also be talking about the future of NBA Live in doing so. Considering there are two different teams working on the mobile and console versions, it's not like they've taken resources away from the console version to focus on mobile; that's just the focus of their marketing and brand awareness at this time. Developers who are working on the console version have posted some encouraging things in recent months, and they seem to be putting too many resources into the console version to axe it.

Again, I think if there's any change in their strategy at all, it'd be to skip NBA Live 17 and return with NBA Live 18 later in the year. I don't think that'd be a bad idea if it comes to that, and I think it's probably what a lot of people would expect anyway.

Thing is, it's tough for EA to win in that situation. If they don't delay a game, people will say they should just take the extra time. If they decide to delay a game or forego a release in order to put more time into development, they'll be mocked and jeered at for missing a release (despite the fact people previously said it was a good idea in the long run).

I still don't know that there's actually been a hint that there won't be a Q1 release, but granted, I can't staunchly rule out the possibility.

I hope iam wrong I hope they do release live 17 in Q1 still as iam not really enjoying 2k17 anymore but I've said all along that I don't think EA Will put out a game mid season I think they will just wait till October and come with Live 18

We speculated on the possibility in our first NLSC Podcast for 2017, and how a Q1 release could find a way to be successful. In the meantime, of course, we're still waiting for details, and an announcement one way or another.

Listening now and agree that EA's social media don't do themselves any favours with there word play leaving people to wonder just like last year when they told us on twitter that we would have player editing.

Absolutely. Ambiguity on social media leaves too much room for speculation. It's admittedly our fault if we read too much into things and make assumptions, but it's kind of on EA and 2K when we don't have a straight answer to begin with.

So nba live 17 is looking like it could be some sort of demo/mini game instead?

Surely that would be a free game then? If that's what EA is going to do with Live 17 and release that soon then I can't fault them for there Q1 release if they stick to it but it once again if a play on words that they have done with saying Live 17 is a Q1 release so you expect the full game but what it looks like there just skipping a year but trying to make it out like there not but I guess we will have to wait and see.

Well, they said they'd be releasing something in Q1. While I guess that does imply a full game, I've kind of been thinking that it might be a cut down demo/teaser with a couple of modes, with a full game later in the year. That's still unconfirmed of course, but it's certainly looking more likely. It could certainly be a good strategy to rebuilding trust and confidence in the brand, especially if what they have impresses.

On one hand, that's a bad look. At the same time, there were people questioning the point of releasing something in the first quarter of 2017 anyway. Whichever way they went, they were going to catch heat and criticism for it. Either way, they would've been in the wrong in someone's eyes.

If this is the case, then the upside is that they will have had a much longer time to work on NBA Live 18. This was the problem after NBA Elite 11's cancellation; they didn't actually have "all that time" to work on NBA Live 13 (or NBA Live 14), since time was spent revamping the team (a couple of times), and trying to rebuild from scratch (a couple of times).

Andrew wrote:On one hand, that's a bad look. At the same time, there were people questioning the point of releasing something in the first quarter of 2017 anyway. Whichever way they went, they were going to catch heat and criticism for it. Either way, they would've been in the wrong in someone's eyes.

If this is the case, then the upside is that they will have had a much longer time to work on NBA Live 18. This was the problem after NBA Elite 11's cancellation; they didn't actually have "all that time" to work on NBA Live 13 (or NBA Live 14), since time was spent revamping the team (a couple of times), and trying to rebuild from scratch (a couple of times).

I'm one who didn't see the point in releasing it this late. Baseball is right around the corner. I, for one, will be focusing on that when it begins.

I'd prefer they just work on 18 and release it next Oct or whenever. The next version really has to blow people away, or me, at least, by taking big strides forward from the last version. I didn't believe that could be accomplished in just one year so waiting till late in 2017 seems like a good move.

I felt that releasing some kind of demo or teaser around this time had merit, but that's all I was expecting it to be. Going full steam ahead with NBA Live 18 is a solid plan though, and I hope it pans out. Andrew Wilson's remarks sound promising:

Earlier this month, a listing for a game called The Drive to NBA Live was spotted on the Korean ratings board. It now appears that EA has effectively canceled that title and pushed back the next NBA Live to the fall, where the publisher would be more likely to release a game under the title of NBA Live 18. The series faces tough competition in 2K Sports’ NBA 2K franchise, which is perennially one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed sports games in the world.

“We have been on a journey with NBA Live,” said Wilson, making an oblique reference to the series’ troubled development history, “and want to deliver something that’s truly innovative and disruptive in the marketplace.” Wilson went on to say that when EA higher-ups got their hands on the game that was scheduled to launch in early 2017, they felt that “in all honesty [...] it’s really, really good — really fun.”

According to Wilson, EA has decided to “double down on [the game], add to it, and launch it as a full beat later this year.” The company feels that it will have a better chance of succeeding with an NBA Live game that debuts in the traditional fall window, shortly before the NBA season begins.